An art gallery that highlights women of color is now being showcased at Sacramento’s Sol Collective. Nisha Sethi, the creator of the gallery, hoped to inspire other people with her work to share their voices and participate in protests.

Royal Society for Public Health in the UK released a report listing the top five social networking platforms that were damaging to youth’s mental health. Instagram was listed as number one, followed by Snapchat for impacting youth through anxiety and depression, as well as generating uncertainty about self-identity and body image. AccessSacramento talked to five teens who use Instagram regularly about their experiences with the app.

After the shooting at a Florida high school, students from all accords the United States have decided that they are going to band together and walk out of class on March 14th. But with principals threatening suspensions, some students are worried about how their activism may hinder their academic success. The ACLU put together a livestream video to reassure students of their rights, and what is equal punishment versus excessive punishment, and what you can do to assert your rights.

On February 17th and 18th, there was a two-day conference for youth who are involved in journalism programs throughout the state. The conference had workshops which were lead by professionals from the field, as well as key-note speakers that shared their wisdom about journalism. Young people from all over California came to Oakland for this event, and this video features a taste of how their programs are run.

Many people believe that laws exist in society in order to keep its citizens safe. When a person commits a crime, they should be penalized accordingly. However, there are some that are questioning if punishment is the appropriate way to keep people safe. After all, if the punishment cripples a person’s ability to return to being a productive citizen, is it really the best option?

According to the Los Angeles Times, community reinvestment is the key to reducing crime and violence. Instead of locking up the people who break the law, they are assigned projects or summer jobs to improve their community.

“Indeed, there is now sufficient evidence to support an entirely new model for countering violence — one driven by investment,” said Professor Patrick Sharkley, the writer of the article Community investment, not punishment, is key to reducing violence.

Sacramento County Sheriff Service Center

In Sacramento, organizations such as the California Endowment encourage restorative actions rather than punishment. One reason to choose reinvestment is the much lower cost. According to the New York Times, the average cost of locking up one inmate annually is $168,000, The prison population of California in 2015 was 112,300 people. According to the Orange County Register, California could save half a billion dollars by introducing new rehabilitation programs for inmates and ex-convicts.

In the Sacramento City Unified School District, there are some educators who hold similar views. Often, the teachers and school administrators have to strike the balance between restorative programs and punishment.

“I definitely think that the balance should tip in the favor of, restorative, reinvestment, supportive, as opposed to punishment,” said David Van Natten, Principal of John F. Kennedy High School. “Particularly in the context of school, sometimes a consequence is appropriate but that it’s a much better learning experience and it’s more likely result in long-term change if there is a restorative component.”

The American prison system has become one of the largest in the world. It is up to the people to decide what happens next.

Sacramento housed the fourth largest Japan Town in the United State during the 1920s. Today the town is known as Old Florin Town. Explore in this video the untold history that many that still have a message today.